Sexual Healing

A letter in response to Ariel Levy’s article (September 19, 2011)

Ariel Levy’s depiction of the psychoanalyst Wilhelm Reich and his methods seems unnecessarily sensationalist (“Novelty Acts,” September 19th). While sexual energy and its expression are core aspects of Reich’s work, I think his concepts of streaming more generalized energy and overcoming blockages stored in the body are key reasons that his work continues to this day. In fact, in my understanding, one explanation for Reich’s split with Freud, his onetime mentor, was a disagreement over where memories are stored; Freud limited their archiving to the mind, while Reich believed the body played a role.